


Breathless

by SquaryQ



Series: They Exchanged A Smile - Anxious Babies - MultiFandom [4]
Category: Free!
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety Disorder, Calming down, Competition, Competitive Environment, Helping out, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic, Pre-Competition Panic, Pre-Nagisa Vs Nitori Race, Preliminary Races, Race
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-26 03:10:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13848825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquaryQ/pseuds/SquaryQ
Summary: Nagisa spots Nitori having an anxiety attack and does his best to help.





	Breathless

Twenty five minutes to go.

Nitori wrung his hands as he watched the freestyle swimmers compete in their individual races. In the last round, Rin-senpai had destroyed the competition and Nitori’s eyes had been only on him. Rin-senpai was everything Nitori aspired to be, he was the cool, stylish, intelligent, organised upperclassman that had him awed from day dawn. And to put the icing on the cake, he was the current captain of their team. Was there nothing that Rin-senpai couldn’t do? If there was, Nitori wanted to know it more than any secrets of the universe; he needed to know that Rin-senpai was just as human as everyone else on the team, and just an endearing charismatic competitor.

Nitori sighed, drumming his fingers on his megaphone, one he hadn’t used since Rin-senpai got out of the pool. His tapping echoed within the amp. So he stopped, worried that the people around him would point out that he was being too noisy or too weird. Or…something.

As another round of freestyle swimmers hoisted themselves out of the pool, Nitori’s leg began to twitch; around him, his teammates were chattering on, mentioning their excitement to watch the breaststroke races that would be beginning soon. And Nitori would be competing in bout one, against Team Iwatboi, Samezuka’s friendly rivals from the same school district. Nitori, who was admittedly new to swimming breaststroke would be going up against, Hazuki Nagisa of Iwatobi High School, who seemed to have an affinity for the stroke that Nitori himself was relatively new to.

The probability was that Nitori would lose, and for the second season in a row, he wouldn’t qualify for Nationals.

He was a weak link.

Nitori rose from his seat and rushed toward the changing rooms. He had to get ready and start stretching. After all, he only had twenty minutes left.

He wandered toward where Team Samezuka had claimed their lockers and threw off his tracksuit bottoms, shoving them into his locker – number 228, a few lockers away from the four Team Iwatobi claimed. Now stood in just his Samezuka jacket and his swim trunks, Nitori began to stretch his muscles.

“Nagisa-kun, I don’t see why I had to join you down in the changing rooms already.” A baritone voice hissed.

“Because Rei-chan! You’re my good luck charm!”

Nitori grimaced, putting on his swimming hat.

“Seriously, Nagisa-kun, I should get back to the team.” Rei objected.

“But Reiii-chaaaaaan, what if nobody’s here yet?” Nagisa wailed.

“Then you have an advantage, you can stretch and whatnot.” Rei replied, “Good luck Nagisa-kun, I have the upmost faith in your prowess. Now, I’m going to rejoin our teammates.”

“Rei-chan you buzzkill…”

Silence.

“Thank you Rei-chan! I love you!” He exclaimed

“Gah er um Nagisa-kun, I… I love you too.”

Nitori sighed. Trying to ignore the affectionate display from his rival.

But as soon as he changed his fixation back to the race, Nitori noticed that his heart had begun to hammer in his chest. His eye twitched as he checked the time.

Fifteen minutes.

With shaky legs, Nitori wobbled his way past the beaming, blushing Hazuki Nagisa and plopped himself down on a bench. He craned his head toward the ceiling, staring at the lights. He closed his eyes once he noticed one was flickering. He didn’t want to develop a headache because he was in this state.

It took Nagisa about five minutes to finish sorting himself out – with his swimming cap on his head, and now clad only in an undone Iwatobi jacket and his swim jammers, he bounded toward Nitori.

Ten minutes.

“Hey Ai-chan! I’m excited to swim with you today!”

“Mmmm.” Nitori said, his gaze on the ground. His leg was going up and down at a ridiculously fast pace. One of Nitori’s hands was clutching his thigh, his nails digging into his skin just a bit. His other hand was clutching the kneecap of the offending leg, pulling upward in an attempt to stop the muscle spasm.

Nagisa leant to the side, bending down to see Nitori’s hung head. The silver haired student’s lip quivered as he glared at his leg with furrowed brows, “Hmm? You okay Ai-chan?”

Silence.

“Injured?”

Nitori shook his head. He looked back up at the ceiling and gasped for air, like exhaling after a breath you didn’t realise you had held.

“Ai-chan do you want water?”

He nodded.

Nagisa disappeared for a few moments, coming back with a half-drank bottle of water and handed it to Nitori.

Behind them, blurs of other swimmers passed by, making their way toward the door, so they could head to their lanes for their race.

“You feeling okay? Nervous or something?” Nagisa asked as Nitori opened the cap of the water bottle, craning his neck skyward and tipping the water into his mouth, avoiding putting lips to Nagisa’s bottle of water, certain he didn’t want to share an indirect kiss with neither Nagisa nor Rei.

He nodded again.

Nagisa frowned, stretching, “Dizzy, nauseous? That kinda think?”

Nitori nodded.

“Okay, Ai-chan, Rei-chan gets like this all the time, okay? Has this happened before.”

“Mhmm.”

“Often?”

Nitori shook his head.

“Okay, so I’m going to take your hands now and we are gonna breathe, okay, Ai-chan.”

He nodded.

“Inhale for one, two, three, four. Exhale for one, two, three, four.”

Nitori copied Nagisa, his blue eyes locked on the

“Are you breathing from your diaphragm, Ai-chan?”

Nitori shook his head.

“Well you should.” Nagisa moved one of Nitori’s hands so it rested at the bottom of his ribcage. Nagisa mirrored him.

“See the bloat there, it’s because you’re breathing deeper. Rei-chan taught me about it, it was in one of his theory books! Cool, right?”

“Mmm.”

Five minutes.

“Come on, Ai-chan. Keep breathing, but you’ve gotta walk with me.”

“Okay…” he murmured.

They entered the outside plane, readying themselves to leap into the pool. Team Iwatobi and Samezuka erupted in applause as their representatives left the changing room.

“Nitori-kun looks uneasy.” Rei mumbles from the stands as his team shouted encouraging words. With a scarlet face, he realised that he didn’t call down to Nagisa…

“YOU CAN DO THIS NAGISA-KUN!”

Nagisa beamed, and gave a peace sign to his boyfriend. A few rows higher on the bleachers sat the Hazuki parents, staring at their son with keen anticipation.

“Take your marks.”

“AI!” Rin shouted from Samezuka’s side. Nitori cast him a glance. His senpai grinned at him and gave him a thumbs up. He nodded and clambered onto the starting board.

“Good luck, Ai-chan.” Nagisa said from the lane beside him.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

The pair exchanged a knowing smile mere seconds before the bell chimed for the race to begin.


End file.
